7by7runner’s Weblog

Last night (1 March) I set off for a relaxed 2:30 min run across the northern half of the course.

Training presents its own challenges, with obstacles not only being your own physical ability or the nature of the terrain. In this case, darkness fell sooner than I had expected reminding me of my days patrolling in the jungle during my Army service.

 I ride my bike to Marin Place, where I commence an 1:15 min outbound to Lane Cove initially crossing Sydney Harbour Bridge (then turning west).

I didn’t start running until just after 7 pm, and with daylight savings I knew I would have some light remaining but did think that by the end I would be in darkness.

As most of the course along that leg is enclosed in a mangrove canopy over bush tracks, visibility at night is poor and mobility is slower that across a paved area at the best of times given the undulating nature of the terrain and the gnarled irregular pattern the tracks make. Additionally, it had rained hard in Sydney the previous night and so along the track we many pools of water.

I reached my turning point in darkness, running past the giant rocks that line the track open to the small mangrove inlets that line the harbour- it would have to be one of the prettier secrets around Sydney, and with the darkness develops its own mysterious attractiveness.

Running back, I had to remember which of the bush tracks to follow and along with the hazard of misplacing my footing I decided instead to follow the dreaded River Road into North Sydney with its daunting steep hills, and extending the distance a few extra km.

 I was running at a good pace, feeling fresh after a few days rest, and imagine that the distance should have been around 24 km across the 2:30 min had I not had to detour.

MaxHR reached was 183 bpm at the top of the Vista Street lookout.